1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a running gear of a saddle-riding-type vehicle including a running gear unit with an engine, an exhaust pipe extending from the engine, and a support unit for making the engine support the exhaust pipe.
2. Description of Related Art
A running gear of a saddle-riding-type is conventionally classified into two types. One type includes a running gear unit with an engine, which is pivotally supported to a vehicle body to freely swing, an exhaust pipe extending towards the rear of the engine and a support unit for making the engine support a midway section of the exhaust pipe in the longitudinal direction.
In more detail, the support unit is provided with a first bracket protruding towards the rear of the engine, a second bracket being attached to the midway section of the exhaust pipe and protruding upwards from the midway section, a single first engaging member for engaging protruding end parts of the first and second brackets with each other and a pair of second engaging members vertically arranged for engaging a front end part of the first bracket with the engine.
The first engaging member is provided with a bolt for engaging the first and second brackets with each other by passing the bolt through a long hole extending in the fore-and-aft direction formed on the second bracket. Placing the above bolt at some certain point of the long hole will accommodate a relative error between the engine and the exhaust pipe.
On the other hand, a second type of running gear includes a support unit of provided with a first bracket protruding towards the rear of the engine bearing a rear wheel at the protruding end part, a second bracket protruding towards the front of the midway section of the exhaust pipe in the longitudinal direction, a pair of first engaging members vertically arranged for engaging the protruding end part of the second bracket to the base part of the first bracket and a pair of second engaging members vertically arranged for engaging the front end part of the first bracket with the engine.
The issue here is that in the first type of running gear, the second bracket is protruding simply upwards from the midway section of the exhaust pipe. This may cause the first bracket being engaged with the protruding end part of the second bracket or the midsection in the fore-and-aft direction to protrude long, thereby resulting in the support unit for making the engine support the exhaust pipe being larger in size and weighing too much.
Also, in the second type of running gear, the first bracket is large in size for the purpose of making the engine bear the rear wheel, resulting in it weighing too much as the support unit makes the engine support the exhaust pipe. Further, the engaging members are each structured by a mere bolt hole formed on the corresponding bracket and a bolt passing through the bolt hole. Therefore, with such engaging members, accommodating a relative error between the engine and the exhaust pipe is not easy. As a result, such a support unit may complicate assembly of the exhaust pipe to the engine.